Lauren Verster walked with 'soul under arm' after stopping NPO program

"What am I going to do now, I thought. Who am I going to become? I then went to a coach, who made me realize that I can also fulfill all the things I like in my work in other ways," Verster tells the newspaper. "I don't miss the traveling itself; I've lived that dream long enough. It was also very tiring, I always had jet lag and could never go to a friend's birthday, a party or a wedding. I have now booked a sports class for tomorrow morning, I could never plan that before."

Verster now gets the feeling of freedom from her neighbours, she says: "We live in the city, on a houseboat on the water, surrounded by free spirits, so I still have that feeling of freedom. And I just like that little bit more peace and quiet. As long as I can do something that is mentally challenging."

Verster now makes a podcast and has a radio show on BNR Nieuwsradio. She also works as a chairwoman and gives training to entrepreneurs. "After I put the kids to bed in the evening, I collapse on the couch like a pudding at eight o'clock," she confesses. "I would love to go to bed then, but I am ashamed in front of my husband to go to bed at half past eight every day, so I stay up a little longer."

Verster doesn't have time for romance at the moment, she adds. "When we had our first child, we decided to hire a babysitter every Friday night and do something fun," says the presenter. "We kept that up for a year and a half, then it became every two weeks and as soon as we had another child, that whole fixed day disappeared. Still, I never feel like we're losing each other. You just have to make sure that you remain yourself, and not just be a mother, because that's not sexy."